Enough was enough, and the breaking point was 240.942mph. That was the speed at which Mauricio Gugelmin lapped the Fontana superspeedway to take pole position for the 1997 CART season finale and claim a new record for fastest lap in motorsport history. To get that average speed, the PacWest Reynard-Mercedes driver had hit 250mph on the straights and 230mph in the corners.

For context, it was well above the previous record qualifying lap, 236.986mph set by Arie Luyendyk in the 1996 Indianapolis 500, and comfortably ahead of Gugelmin's nearest rival on the day, Jimmy Vasser, who qualified at 239.222mph. Considering that this year's Indy 500 pole was completed at 229.125mph, and Penske's Helio Castroneves reckons the upgraded 2.4-litre engines set to be introduced from 2021 will lead to laps in the region of 235mph, Gugelmin's was a staggering figure.

CART had realised that the racing speeds were getting out of control - hardly surprising considering engine output was hitting 1000bhp - and had been looking at ways to make speedway racing safer.

Tom Errington is Autosport's American Racing reporter, after moving across from sister company Motorsport Stats at the beginning of 2018. Having lived in South Carolina for almost three years, it's not surprising he has ended up covering NASCAR and IndyCar after returning to England and studying sports journalism at Huddersfield University.

Tom has also covered international events for Autosport, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, the DTM, the Blancpain GT Series and the European Formula 3 Championship.

Away from motor racing, Tom mostly despairs at the current state of Newcastle United, but also finds time for the latest cinema blockbusters and video games.

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